Shopping store planning and operations using large-scale distributed radio infrastructure

ABSTRACT

A shopping store system may include one or more shelves in which each shelf includes one or more levels and one or more products placed on the shelves. Electronic sign labels (ESLs) may be included in the shopping store system in which each of the ESLs is located in a particular position corresponding to a respective product placed on the shelves. Each ESL may include a multi-protocol radio that is configured to operate in a reception modality, a transmission modality, or a transceiving modality. The ESLs may each include a display that is configured to provide information about the respective product to which each ESL corresponds. The shopping store system may include a computer system configured to receive information transmitted by and process information received by each of the ESLs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.63/316,879, filed on Mar. 4, 2022, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to shopping store planning andoperations using large-scale distributed radio infrastructure.

BACKGROUND

Brick-and-mortar shopping stores may sell multiple products that arearranged and displayed on various shelves in the shopping stores forconsumers to peruse. To facilitate purchase by the consumers, theproducts on the shelves may be labeled with a tag that may be attachedto the shelf and aligned with the product to which the tag relates. Thetag corresponding to a product may include an identity, a price,promotional materials, or any other information relating to thecorresponding product.

The subject matter claimed in the present disclosure is not limited toembodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only inenvironments such as those described above. Rather, this background isonly provided to illustrate one example technology area where someembodiments described in the present disclosure may be practiced.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of an embodiment, a shopping store system mayinclude one or more shelves in which each shelf includes one or morelevels and one or more products placed on the shelves. Electronic signlabels (ESLs) may be included in the shopping store system in which eachof the ESLs is located in a particular position corresponding to arespective product placed on the shelves. Each ESL may include amulti-protocol radio that is configured to operate in a receptionmodality, a transmission modality, or a transceiving modality. The ESLsmay each include a display that is configured to provide informationabout the respective product to which each ESL corresponds. The shoppingstore system may include a computer system configured to receiveinformation transmitted by and process information received by each ofthe ESLs.

According to an additional or alternative aspect of an embodiment, amethod may include obtaining, by a radio receiver, radio signals fromelectronic sign labels (ESLs) in which each ESL of the plurality of ESLsis associated with a respective product in a shopping store and isconfigured to operate in a transmission modality on one or more radiofrequency protocols. The method may include determining a location ofeach ESL based on the radio signals obtained from the plurality of ESLsand determining locations of one or more products based on the locationof each of the ESLs and an association between each of the ESLs with therespective product. The method may include generating a planogramindicating the locations of the products.

According to an additional or alternative aspect of an embodiment, amethod may include receiving, by one or more electronic sign labels(ESLs) in a shopping store, radio signals transmitted from a deviceassociated with a customer in the shopping store over a period of time.The method may include determining a location of the customer based onlocations of the ESLs in the shopping store that received the radiosignal from the device. The method may also include generating a heatmapthat includes the location of the customer over the period of time.

The object and advantages of the embodiments will be realized andachieved at least by the elements, features, and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the claims. It is to be understood that boththe foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are example embodiments of an electronic sign label(ESL) tag that may be used to facilitate a distributed shopping storeradio system according to at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is an example of a heatmap generated by the distributed shoppingstore radio system according to at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is an example of a planogram generated by the distributedshopping store radio system according to at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an example embodiment of a shopping cart that includes radioantennas to facilitate generating the planogram according to at leastone embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example shopping store system according to atleast one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method of generating a planogramaccording to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method of generating a shopperheatmap according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an example computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An electronic sign label (ESL) may include an electronic display toprovide information relating to a particular object, a method ofcommunicating information to and from the ESL (e.g., instructing the ESLregarding what information is to be shown on the electronic display),and a battery to facilitate remote operation of the ESL. The method ofcommunicating information may include a radio transmitter, receiver,and/or transceiver coupled to the ESL.

ESLs may be deployed in a brick-and-mortar shopping store such that theelectronic display of the ESL shows information relating to one or moreproducts sold in the shopping store. A given shopping store may displayand sell thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands ofdifferent types of or quantities of products. Consequently, the givenshopping store may include a corresponding number of physical tagsand/or ESLs to label the products being sold at the shopping store.

A shopping store may generate a map called a planogram to detaillocations, quantities sold, quantities in stock, prices, and/or anyother information relating to various products being sold at theshopping store. However, generating the planogram for the shopping storemay be time-consuming because planograms are often generated manually,such as by an employee of the shopping store who surveys the shoppingstore and drafts the planogram. Furthermore, the shopping store mayfrequently change the locations of one or more products being offered bythe shopping store such that planograms become quickly outdated andunrepresentative of the shopping store. Because planograms are typicallydifficult to generate efficiently and become outdated quickly, shoppingstores may not want to invest time and/or resources for generatingplanograms that may be beneficial for marketing of products, planningproduct updates, analyzing shopper behavior, or for any other purposes.

Additionally or alternatively, operators and owners of the shoppingstore may want to track shopper behavior within the shopping store toanalyze product popularity, effectiveness of promotional campaigns,accessibility of particular areas of the shopping store, or for anyother purposes. However, collecting such information regarding shopperbehavior on a large scale may be challenging for the shopping store.

The present disclosure relates to, among other things, a large-scaledistributed radio system that may be used to send and receiveinformation to various ESLs associated with products and/or locations ina shopping store (e.g., shelves in the shopping store). The large-scaledistributed radio system includes ESLs that may each includemulti-protocol operation capabilities that are configured to transmitand/or receive radio signals to collect information about the shoppingstore in which the large-scale distributed radio system is implemented.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are explained with reference tothe accompanying figures.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are example embodiments of ESLs 100 a and 100 b(collectively described as “ESLs 100”) that may be used to facilitate adistributed shopping store radio system according to at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure. The ESL 100 may include a display110 that presents information about a particular product. For example,the display 110 may present a product name, a product identificationnumber, a barcode corresponding to the product, a price of the product,a quantity of products available in stock, a quantity of productsalready sold, whether the product is involved in any promotionalcampaigns, or any other information relating to the product. In someembodiments, the displays 110 of different ESLs 100 may presentdifferent information depending on an intended viewer of the differentESLs. For example, a first ESL display may be used for inventorypurposes by employees, managers, and/or other operators of a shoppingstore, and a second ESL display used in the same shopping store may beintended to be viewed by customers of the shopping store. The first ESLdisplay may present information such as the price of the product, thequantity of the product available in stock at the shopping store, thequantity of products previously sold (during the day, since a previousshipment, since a product's release, etc.), the product identificationnumber, and/or any other information that may be useful to the shoppingstore. The second ESL display may present information such as the priceof the product and/or promotional campaign details involving the productsuch that the customer of the shopping store is not provided sensitiveor unnecessary information involving the product.

Additionally or alternatively, the ESL 100 may include one or morelight-emitting diodes (LEDs) 120 that emit a particular color of light.The LED color may provide additional information about the correspondingproduct and/or for the customer. For example, the LEDs 120 may providepersonalized information to a particular customer regarding personalizedpromotional offers and/or guidance regarding items included on theparticular customer's shopping list.

In some embodiments, the displays 110 of the ESLs 100 may exhibitdifferent colors, such as a white price tag 112 or a black price tag 114as illustrated in FIG. 1B. The different colors exhibitable on thedisplays 110 may be used to indicate one or more differences betweenproducts associated with the ESLs 100. For example, a first particularESL displaying the white price tag 112 may indicate that the associatedproduct is not on sale, while a second particular ESL displaying theblack price tag 114 may indicate that a promotion may be activeinvolving the associated product. As another example, the differentcolors exhibited by the displays 110 may indicate that the associatedproducts belong to different product categories (e.g., the white pricetag 112 relating to clothing products and the black price tag 114relating to food products).

In some embodiments, the ESL 100 may include a radio configured to sendand/or receive information according to a multimodal timed-slotarchitecture. The radio may be communicatively coupled with a computersystem, such as a computer system associated with operations andmanagement of the shopping store in which the ESL 100 is deployed, viathe radio so that the ESL 100 may receive radio signals from thecomputer system relating to product information updates. Additionally oralternatively, the ESL 100 may receive radio signals from one or moreother devices configured to emit radio signals. The ESL 100 may thentransmit information and/or ping the computer system based on the radiosignals received by the ESL 100 from the other devices. In someembodiments, the radio of the ESL 100 may be configured to operate usingmultiple radio-signaling protocols when receiving radio signals havingvarious signal frequencies, such as a near-field communication (NFC),Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy (BLE), thread, Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband(UWB), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, and/or proprietary frequencyranges. In these and other embodiments, the radio-signaling protocolsused by the radios of the ESL 100 may involve standard or proprietaryfrequency ranges with standard or proprietary radio protocols. Forexample, a proprietary multi-modal radio protocol may involve havingsome of the ESLs 100 (e.g., 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%,95%, or 98% of the ESLs 100) be in a “sleep” state in which the ESLs 100are not transmitting or receiving radio signals to decrease powerconsumption with specified times for activating a given ESL 100 formulti-modal radio signaling.

In some embodiments, the multi-protocol capabilities of the radio of theESL 100 may facilitate receiving radio signals from radio-enableddevices associated with customers of the shopping store in which the ESL100 is implemented. For example, a customer's smartphone may beconfigured to transmit Bluetooth signals that may be received by theESLs 100. The customer may allow the ESL 100 to receive the Bluetoothsignals transmitted by the customer's smartphone to provide interactionswith a customer's movement through the shopping store. In this and otherexamples, the ESLs 100 may guide the customer (e.g., according to ashopping list associated with the customer included in the customer'ssmartphone), such as using different colored LED lights. As anotherexample, the ESLs 100 may provide promotional materials and/or productsuggestions based on the customer's movement patterns, productspurchased, or any other information about the customer obtainable byreceiving radio signals from a device associated with the customer.

In some embodiments, the ESL 100 in the reception modality mayfacilitate product analysis for the shopping store in which the ESL 100is implemented. For example, FIG. 2 is an example of a heatmap 200generated by the distributed shopping store radio system according to atleast one embodiment of the present disclosure. The heatmap 200 may be atwo-dimensional graphical representation of three-dimensional data inwhich one of the three dimensions of data is represented using one ormore colors. In some embodiments, the heatmap 200 may track movement ofone or more customers in the shopping store in which the movement of thecustomers tracked for the heatmap 200 may be represented by one or moreheat spots 210. Different colors of the heat spots 210 may indicatedifferent characteristics of the one or more customers' movements, suchas a given customer's dwelling time at a given position, a number ofcustomers standing at a given position for longer than a given timethreshold, or some combination thereof. For example, the heatmap 200 maybe generated based on a single customer's movement throughout theshopping store, and different colors of the heat spots 210 may indicatea duration of time that the customer stayed in a particular location inthe shopping store. In this and other examples, cooler colors (e.g.,blue and/or green) associated with the heat spots 210 may indicate thatthe customer did not stay in a particular location associated with theheat spots 210 as long as heat spots 210 that include warmer colors(e.g., yellow, orange, and/or red). As another example, the heatmap 200may be generated based on several customers' movements throughout theshopping store. In this and other examples, the different colors of theheat spots 210 may indicate a frequency and/or a duration with whichcustomers stayed in a particular location in the shopping store. In thisand other examples, cooler colors may indicate that fewer customersstayed in a particular heat spot, while warmer colors indicate that agreater number of customers stayed in the particular heat spot.

Returning to the description of FIG. 1 , the multimodal timed-slotarchitecture may also involve switching the radio of the ESL 100 from areception modality to a transmission modality in which the radio isconfigured to transmit radio signals to nearby devices. In other words,the radio of the ESL 100 may switch from being configured to receiveinformation updates via radio signals to transmitting radio signals as abeacon such that nearby devices may receive information pertaining tothe ESL 100. In some embodiments, the multimodal timed-slot architecturemay be applied to a group of ESLs 100 that operate in the transmissionmodality. Because each of the ESLs may be powered by a battery, constanttransmission of radio signals by every ESL in the group may beinefficient for the battery lives of the ESLs. In order to preserve thebattery life of each of the ESLs 100, a particular group of related ESLs(e.g., related according to geographical proximity to one another withinthe same shopping store) may specify a subset of the particular group ofESLs 100 to transmit radio signals in the transmission modality, whilesome or most of the ESLs 100 included in the particular group remaininactive during the transmission modality.

In these and other embodiments, the identities of the ESLs 100 includedin the subset may be updated at different times such that different ESLsincluded in the particular group are designated for transmitting radiosignals to distribute and regularize battery usage among the group ofESLs 100. For example, a particular group of ESLs may include ten ESLs,and during a first period of time, the particular group of ESLs maydesignate a first ESL and a second ESL of the group as the subset oftransmitting ESLs with the other eight ESLs being inactive. In this andother examples, the particular group of ESLs may designate a third ESLand a fourth ESL of the group as the subset of transmitting ESLs duringa second period of time with the other eight ESLs, now including thefirst ESL and the second ESL, being inactive.

In the transmission modality, the ESL 100 may facilitate productanalysis for the shopping store in which the ESL 100 is implemented. Forexample, FIG. 3 is an example of a planogram 300 of a shopping storegenerated using a distributed shopping store radio system according toat least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The planogram 300 maybe generated by a computer system that receives radio signals from oneor more ESLs included in the shopping store. In some embodiments, theplanogram 300 may include a planogram skeleton 310 that indicates afloor plan of the shopping store that does not include any products. Forexample, the planogram skeleton 310 may include locations of one or moreentrances 312 and/or one or more exits 314 of the shopping store andlengths of one or more walls of the shopping store. The computer systemmay receive radio signals from each of the ESLs that include a locationand an identity of each of the products associated with the receivedradio signals from the ESLs. In some embodiments, the computer systemmay determine the positions of each product associated with a receivedradio signal based on features included in the planogram skeleton 310,such as one or more of the entrances 312, one or more of the exits 314,and/or one or more of the walls of the shopping store.

Based on the positions of the products as determined by the radiosignals corresponding to the ESLs, the planogram skeleton 310 may bepopulated with one or more shelves 320. In some embodiments, thecomputer system may determine a size of a particular shelf 320 based ona quantity and/or a density of received radio signals from a particulararea in the shopping store. Additionally or alternatively, the shelves320 may be previously included in the planogram skeleton 310, and thepositions of the received radio signals may be used to assess whether aparticular ESL associated with a particular received radio signal islocated near or on one of the shelves 320.

The identities of the products corresponding to each of the ESLs may becorrelated with the position information to facilitate labeling each ofthe shelves 320. In some embodiments, the identity of a particularproduct may include a product name and a product category such that theshelf 320 on which the particular product is located based on the radiosignal corresponding to an ESL associated with the particular productmay be labeled using the product name and/or the product category. Forexample, each shelf 320 may be labeled according to the product categoryas illustrated in FIG. 3 . As another example, each shelf 320 may belabeled according to the product category (i.e., color coded), and theproduct name may be used to provide additional granularity and detail inthe planogram 300. As another example, the shelves 320 may be labeledaccording to only the product names without including the productcategories in the planogram 300.

In some embodiments, the ESLs of the distributed shopping store radiosystem may be used with a camera or any other image-capturing systems tofacilitate generating the planogram 300 and/or update the generatedplanogram 300. One or more cameras or other image-capturing sensors maybe paired with each of the ESLs so that the cameras may captureadditional information regarding the products to which the ESLscorrespond and/or verify information included in the ESLs. For example,a camera system may be implemented to visually identify and/or verifystocking levels, locations, and/or any other information about theproducts as described by corresponding ESLs. In these and otherembodiments, the cameras may be included as a discrete system that iscommunicatively coupled to and configured to send image information tothe distributed shopping store radio system. Additionally oralternatively, the cameras may be integrated into components associatedwith the distributed shopping store radio system. For example, a givencamera may be embedded in the ESLs or coupled to a shopping cart used ina shopping store associated with the distributed shopping store radiosystem. As an additional or alternative example, the given camera mayinclude a phone camera corresponding to a mobile device used bycustomers of the shopping store.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the ESL 100without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,the designations of different elements in the manner described is meantto help explain concepts described herein and is not limiting. Further,the ESL 100 may include any number of other elements or may beimplemented within other systems or contexts than those described.

FIG. 4 is an example embodiment of a shopping cart 400 that includesradio antennas 410 to facilitate generating the planogram according toat least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The shopping cart 400may be an example of a device that may be used in conjunction with theESLs of a shopping store to facilitate operations of the ESLs in thereception modality and/or the transmission modality.

In some embodiments, the shopping cart 400 may include radio antennas410 mounted on a post 420. The post 420 may be oriented in a verticaldirection along a z-axis with the radio antennas 410 oriented atdifferent heights (i.e., different z-coordinates) along the post 420such that the radio antennas 410 on the post 420 make a linear,vertically aligned array of radio receivers, radio transmitters, orradio transceivers. In some embodiments, positioning the radio antennas410 along a length of the post 420 may facilitate using the shoppingcart 400 to determine a three-dimensional location of a particular ESLthat is configured in a transmitting modality. For example, the radiosignal transmitted by the particular ESL may indicate thetwo-dimensional location of the particular ESL in the shopping store. Aheight of the particular ESL on a shelf in the shopping store may bedetermined based on a radio signal strength indicator (RSSI) of a radiosignal received by the radio antennas 410 of the shopping cart 400 inwhich the RSSI received at each position along the length of the post420 differs depending on the height of the particular ESL. In this andother examples, the height of the particular ESL may be approximated ascorresponding to the height of a particular radio antenna 410 at whichthe greatest RSSI is captured. One or more of the radio antennas 410 mayreceive the radio signal transmitted by the particular ESL but atvarying signal strengths because of the height difference between theradio antennas 410. Consequently, RSSI may be used to determine a heightof the source ESL of the transmitted radio signal based on differencesin the signal strength received by the various radio antennas 410.

Additionally or alternatively, the radio antennas 410 may be configuredas a directional antenna that includes a directional reception patternthat facilitates sending and/or receiving greater power in specificdirections. The increased sensitivity of the radio antennas 410 inspecific directions may facilitate determining the height of aparticular ESL by adding another dimensionality to the radio signalsbeing sent and/or received by the radio antennas 410. The RSSI of aradio signal sent by the particular ESL and received by the radioantennas 410 and/or the RSSI of a radio signal sent by the radioantennas 410 and received by the particular ESL may be used to determinethe height of the particular ESL based on the directional sensitivity ofthe radio antennas 410.

To determine a two-dimensional location of one or more of the ESLs(i.e., an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate associated with each ESL withrespect to the shopping store), the shopping cart 400 may, in someembodiments, include a global positioning system (GPS) tracker, a UWBranger, or any other radio device from which the ESLs may receive radiosignals to specify the two-dimensional location of the ESLs.

Additionally or alternatively, the shopping cart 400 may be used togenerate heatmaps, such as the heatmap 200, corresponding to movement ofcustomers in a shopping store. Because the customers of the shoppingstore may or may not bring devices that are configured to communicatewith the ESLs using one or more of radio protocols (e.g., smartphonesusing Bluetooth, UWB, etc.) and/or customers' devices may or may nothave radio communications enabled, having the shopping cart 400 equippedwith the radio antennas 410 may facilitate more regularized and/orstandardized tracking of customer movement. The ESLs located around theshopping store may be configured to receive radio signals transmitted bythe radio antennas 410 of the shopping cart to track movement of thecustomer using the shopping cart 400.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the shopping cart400 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the designations of different elements in the manner describedis meant to help explain concepts described herein and is not limiting.Further, the shopping cart 400 may include any number of other elementsor may be implemented within other systems or contexts than thosedescribed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example shopping store system 500 according toat least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The shopping storesystem 500 may be configured to facilitate communication betweencustomers and ESLs 540 deployed in a shopping store corresponding to theshopping store system 500 such that information may be provided for orobtained from the customers of the shopping store. The shopping storesystem 500 may include an application gateway 510, a store local accessnetwork (LAN) 520, one or more access points 530, and the ESLs 540. Insome embodiments, the ESLs 540 may be the same as or similar to the ESLs100 a and 100 b as described in relation to FIGS. 1A and 1B. In someembodiments, one or more mobile devices 550 may be configured tocommunicate with the store LAN 520 such that information relating to themobile devices 550 may be sent to the shopping store system 500 orinformation relating to the shopping store system 500 may be sent to themobile devices 550.

In some embodiments, the application gateway 510 may include one or morenodes in a computer network that are configured to receive informationfrom the mobile devices 550 relating to the shopping trips of the usersof the mobile devices 550. For example, the mobile devices 550 may sendinformation regarding device locations, shopping lists, shopper productpreferences, some combination thereof, or any other information that maybe pertinent to a given shopping trip. The application gateway 510 mayadditionally or alternatively facilitate sending information from thestore LAN 520 to the mobile devices 550. For example, the store LAN 520may be configured to send notifications regarding product deals,locations of items included in shopping lists, grocery deliveryreadiness statuses, some combination thereof, or any other informationto the mobile devices 550. In some embodiments, the mobile devices 550may include a software application, such as a mobile app, with which theapplication gateway 510 may be allowed to communicate so that theapplication gateway 510 may send information from the store LAN 520 orreceive information from the mobile devices 550.

The ESLs 540 may be communicatively coupled to the store LAN 520 via theaccess points 530. In some embodiments, the ESLs 540 may be configuredto send any information collected by the ESLs 540 (e.g., while in areception modality) to the store LAN 520 via the access points 530.Additionally or alternatively, the store LAN 520 may be configured tosend instructions to the ESLs 540 for changing the modalities of theESLs 540 or displaying particular types of information (e.g., particularcolors, specific text messages, or some combination thereof) via theaccess points 530 responsive to receiving particular information fromthe mobile devices 550 or any changes originating from the store LAN 520itself. In these and other embodiments, the information received fromthe ESLs 540 or provided to the ESLs 540 by the store LAN 520 may beused to generate the heatmap 200 as described in relation to FIG. 2 ,the planogram 300 as described in relation to FIG. 3 , or any otheroperations associated with the shopping store system 500.

In some embodiments, the store LAN 520 may determine a directionality ofcommunication with the mobile devices 550 and the ESLs 540 based onwhether the mobile devices 550 and the ESLs 540 are categorized aspassive devices or active devices. For example, the shopping cart 400 asdescribed in relation to FIG. 4 may be configured to perform activeidentification (e.g., by transmitting radio signals) of the mobiledevices 550 or the ESLs 540, which are classified as passive devices(e.g., radio receivers), to facilitate communications or interactiveoperations of the shopping store system 500. In such an example, thestore LAN 520 may be configured to send information to the applicationgateway 510 and the access points 530 so that information may be relayedto the mobile devices 550 and the ESLs 540, respectively. As anadditional or alternative example, a particular customer with aparticular mobile device 550 may choose to opt in to being an activedevice, such as via a user configuration menu in a mobile app associatedwith the store LAN 520. In this and other examples, the given mobiledevice 550 may be classified as an active device that sends informationto the access points 530 and the store LAN 520 for generating theheatmap 200. In situations in which the given mobile device 550 isclassified as a passive device, the store LAN 520 may instruct the ESLs540 to be configured in a transmitting modality as signal beacons, andthe given mobile device 550 may capture signals from the ESLs 540 ratherthan transmitting signals as an active device.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the shopping storesystem 500 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.For example, the designations of different elements in the mannerdescribed is meant to help explain concepts described herein and is notlimiting. For instance, in some embodiments, the application gateway510, the store LAN 520, the access points 530, the ESLs 540, and themobile devices 550 are delineated in the specific manner described tohelp with explaining concepts described herein but such delineation isnot meant to be limiting. Further, the shopping store system 500 mayinclude any number of other elements or may be implemented within othersystems or contexts than those described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 of generating a planogramaccording to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Themethod 600 may be performed by any suitable system, apparatus, ordevice. For example, the shopping store system 500 as described inrelation to FIG. 5 or a computer system 800 as described in relation toFIG. 8 may perform one or more operations associated with the method600. Although illustrated with discrete blocks, the steps and operationsassociated with one or more of the blocks of the method 600 may bedivided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, oreliminated, depending on the particular implementation.

The method 600 may begin at block 602, where radio signals are obtainedfrom the ESLs. A shopping store may include ESLs that are configured tooperate in a transmission modality such that each of the ESLs maytransmit radio signals. To generate a planogram mapping products locatedin the shopping store, such as the planogram 300 as described inrelation to FIG. 3 , each of the ESLs may be configured to transmit aradio signal that includes information identifying the ESL, which may beobtained by a computer system, such as the shopping store system 500 asdescribed in relation to FIG. 5 or the computer system 800 as describedin relation to FIG. 8 , via a corresponding radio receiver. In additionto or as an alternative to the information identifying the ESL, theradio signal may include information relating to one or more shoppingproducts associated with the ESL, a time of signal transmission, one ormore product stocking levels, or any other information.

In some embodiments, one or more of the ESLs may simultaneously transmitradio signals such that one or more radio receivers or asoftware-defined radio with a large bandwidth may receive some or all ofthe transmitted radio signals simultaneously. For example, a first ESLmay transmit a first radio signal at the same or a similar time as asecond ESL transmitting a second radio signal with the first radiosignal and the second radio signal being transmitted along differentradio frequency channels. A particular radio receiver may be configuredto simultaneously decode received radio signals adhering to standardradio protocols from multiple different radio transmitters along a broadbandwidth such that the particular radio receiver may decode both thefirst radio signal transmitted by the first ESL and the second radiosignal transmitted by the second ESL. Additionally or alternatively, theESLs may be configured to transmit radio signals sequentially such thata radio receiver may receive each of the transmitted radio signals atdistinct times.

At block 604, a location of each ESL may be determined. In someembodiments, the location of a given ESL may be determined based on theradio signal transmitted by the given ESL including informationregarding the location of the given ESL. Additionally or alternatively,the radio signal transmitted by the given ESL may be received by two ormore radio receivers such that the location of the given ESL may betriangulated based on the locations of the radio receivers.

At block 606, locations of products associated with each of the ESLs maybe determined. Each of the ESLs may be positioned at a location thatcorresponds to the locations of one or more products such thatdetermining the location of a given ESL provides an accurateapproximation of the location of the one or more products associatedwith the given ESL. In some embodiments, the radio signals transmittedby the ESLs may include product names, product identification numbers,or any other information identifying to which products the ESLscorrespond. Additionally or alternatively, the radio signals may includeinformation relating to the product, such as a stocking level, aninventory count, or a designated product location within the shoppingstore.

At block 608, a planogram indicating the locations of the products maybe generated. In some embodiments, the planogram may be the same as orsimilar to the planogram 300 as described in relation to FIG. 3 in thatthe planogram provides a visual representation of a given shopping storeand maps the locations of various products within the shopping store.The planogram may additionally or alternatively represent stockinglevels of the products, such as with color-coding, visual transparency,numerical labels, or variations in object sizing. In some embodiments,the given shopping store may include an image-capturing system thatincludes, for example, various cameras positioned and configured toobserve stocking locations and stocking levels of products located ondifferent shelves in the given shopping store. In these and otherembodiments, the image-capturing system may facilitate verification orsupplementing of the planogram of the given shopping store.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method 600without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, thedesignations of different elements in the manner described is meant tohelp explain concepts described herein and is not limiting. Further, themethod 600 may include any number of other elements or may beimplemented within other systems or contexts than those described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 of generating a shopperheatmap according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.The method 700 may be performed by any suitable system, apparatus, ordevice. For example, the shopping store system 500 as described inrelation to FIG. 5 or the computer system 800 as described in relationto FIG. 8 may perform one or more operations associated with the method700. Although illustrated with discrete blocks, the steps and operationsassociated with one or more of the blocks of the method 700 may bedivided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, oreliminated, depending on the particular implementation.

The method 700 may begin at block 702, where radio signals may bereceived from a device associated with a customer of a shopping store.In some embodiments, the shopping store may include ESLs positioned atvarious locations, for example, along shelves or the walls of theshopping store. The ESLs may be configured to operate in a receptionmodality so that the ESLs may receive radio signals transmitted bydevices that include short-range radio capabilities within the shoppingstore, such as a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone) associated with agiven customer.

At block 704, a location of the customer may be determined. In someembodiments, the ESLs that received the radio signals transmitted by thedevice associated with the customer of the shopping store may becommunicatively coupled to a computer system that may analyze thereceived radio signals and determine the location of the customer. Forexample, the computer system may triangulate the customer's locationbased on the direction from which two or more of the radio signals arereceived. As another example, the computer system may estimate thecustomer's location based on an intensity and the direction of the radiosignal received by one or more of the ESLs.

At block 706, a heatmap of the location of the customer over a period oftime may be generated. In some embodiments, the computer system maygenerate a heatmap that is the same as or similar to the heatmap 200 asdescribed in relation to FIG. 2 . The heatmap may provide avisualization of a given customer's movement through the shopping storefor a single trip to the shopping store or over multiple trips to theshopping store (i.e., within a given window of time). Additionally oralternatively, the heatmap may provide a visualization of severalcustomers' movements through the shopping store within a given window oftime.

At block 708, shopping information may be displayed to the customerusing one or more of the ESLs. In some embodiments, the shoppinginformation may include product-purchase suggestions based on inferencesmade from the customer's movement within the shopping store. Forexample, promotional sales information or coupons for milk may bedisplayed via the ESLs to a given customer who has spent some amount oftime in a cereal section of the shopping store. As another example,information relating to where nails are located within the shoppingstore or path guidance towards the nails section of the shopping storemay be displayed to a given customer who has spent some amount of timein a hammer section of the shopping store.

In these and other embodiments, the shopping information to be displayedto the customer may be determined by a computer system communicativelycoupled to the ESLs, such as the computer system that generated theheatmap. The shopping information may be expressly provided by thecustomer, such as in the form of a grocery list created in a softwareapplication that is also communicatively coupled to the computer system.Additionally or alternatively, the shopping information may be generatedby the computer system by a machine-learning or an artificialintelligence process. For example, the computer system may generateproduct-purchase suggestions based on shopping data collected from othercustomers of the shopping store or similar shopping stores (e.g.,customers frequently purchasing eggs with milk or peanut butter withbread).

At block 710, shopping information may be sent to the device associatedwith the customer based on the determined location of the customer. Theshopping information sent to the device associated with the customer maybe the same as or similar to the shopping information displayed via theESLs described in relation to block 708. In some embodiments, thecustomer's device may include a software application that facilitatescommunication between the customer's device and a computer systemassociated with the shopping store. The computer system may beconfigured to send shopping information intended for a given customer tothe given' customer's device through the software application.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method 700without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, thedesignations of different elements in the manner described is meant tohelp explain concepts described herein and is not limiting. Further, themethod 700 may include any number of other elements or may beimplemented within other systems or contexts than those described.

FIG. 8 is an example computer system 800, according to at least oneembodiment described in the present disclosure. The computing system 800may include a processor 810, a memory 820, a data storage 830, and/or acommunication unit 840, which all may be communicatively coupled. Any orall of the computer system of the shopping store in communication withthe ESL 100 of FIG. 1 may be implemented as a computing systemconsistent with the computing system 800.

Generally, the processor 810 may include any suitable special-purpose orgeneral-purpose computer, computing entity, or processing deviceincluding various computer hardware or software modules and may beconfigured to execute instructions stored on any applicablecomputer-readable storage media. For example, the processor 810 mayinclude a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aField-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other digital or analogcircuitry configured to interpret and/or to execute program instructionsand/or to process data.

Although illustrated as a single processor in FIG. 8 , it is understoodthat the processor 810 may include any number of processors distributedacross any number of network or physical locations that are configuredto perform individually or collectively any number of operationsdescribed in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the processor810 may interpret and/or execute program instructions and/or processdata stored in the memory 820, the data storage 830, or the memory 820and the data storage 830. In some embodiments, the processor 810 mayfetch program instructions from the data storage 830 and load theprogram instructions into the memory 820.

After the program instructions are loaded into the memory 820, theprocessor 810 may execute the program instructions, such as instructionsto cause the computing system 800 to perform one or more operationsrelating to generation of the heatmap 200 in FIG. 2 and/or the planogram300 in FIG. 3 .

The memory 820 and the data storage 830 may include computer-readablestorage media or one or more computer-readable storage mediums forhaving computer-executable instructions or data structures storedthereon. Such computer-readable storage media may be any available mediathat may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer,such as the processor 810. For example, the memory 820 and/or the datastorage 830 may include any of the information displayed by the display110 of the ESL 100 in FIG. 1 , such as product identities, quantities ofproducts in stock, quantities of products sold, etc. In someembodiments, the computing system 800 may or may not include either ofthe memory 820 and the data storage 830.

By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable storagemedia may include non-transitory computer-readable storage mediaincluding Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), CompactDisc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory devices(e.g., solid state memory devices), or any other storage medium whichmay be used to store desired program code in the form ofcomputer-executable instructions or data structures and which may beaccessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. Combinationsof the above may also be included within the scope of computer-readablestorage media. Computer-executable instructions may include, forexample, instructions and data configured to cause the processor 810 toperform a particular operation or group of operations.

The communication unit 840 may include any component, device, system, orcombination thereof that is configured to transmit or receiveinformation over a network. In some embodiments, the communication unit840 may communicate with other devices at other locations, the samelocation, or even other components within the same system. For example,the communication unit 840 may include a modem, a network card (wirelessor wired), an optical communication device, an infrared communicationdevice, a wireless communication device (such as an antenna), and/orchipset (such as a Bluetooth device, an 802.6 device (e.g., MetropolitanArea Network (MAN)), a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellularcommunication facilities, or others), and/or the like. The communicationunit 840 may permit data to be exchanged with a network and/or any otherdevices or systems described in the present disclosure. For example, thecommunication unit 840 may allow the system 800 to communicate withother systems, such as computing devices and/or other networks.

One skilled in the art, after reviewing this disclosure, may recognizethat modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the system800 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the system 800 may include more or fewer components than thoseexplicitly illustrated and described.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus describedembodiments of the present disclosure, it may be recognized that changesmay be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by theclaims.

In some embodiments, the different components, modules, engines, andservices described herein may be implemented as objects or processesthat execute on a computing system (e.g., as separate threads). Whilesome of the systems and processes described herein are generallydescribed as being implemented in software (stored on and/or executed bygeneral purpose hardware), specific hardware implementations or acombination of software and specific hardware implementations are alsopossible and contemplated.

Terms used in the present disclosure and especially in the appendedclaims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as“open terms” (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as“including, but not limited to.”).

Additionally, if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitationis expressly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” or “one or more of A, B, and C, etc.” isused, in general such a construction is intended to include A alone, Balone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, orA, B, and C together, etc.

Further, any disjunctive word or phrase preceding two or morealternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings,should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including oneof the terms, either of the terms, or both of the terms. For example,the phrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibilities of“A” or “B” or “A and B.”

All examples and conditional language recited in the present disclosureare intended for pedagogical objects to aid the reader in understandingthe present disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor tofurthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitationto such specifically recited examples and conditions. Althoughembodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail,various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made heretowithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shopping store system, comprising: one or moreshelves, wherein each shelf includes one or more levels; one or moreproducts placed on the shelves; a shopping cart that includes an arrayof radio receivers that includes a plurality of radio receiverspositioned at different heights relative to other radio receiversincluded in the array; a plurality of electronic sign labels (ESLs),wherein each ESL of the plurality of ESLs: is located in a particularposition corresponding to a respective product placed on the shelves;includes a multi-protocol radio that is configured to operate in areception modality and a transmission modality; and includes a display;and a computer system configured to: receive information transmitted bythe each ESL in the transmission modality; process information receivedby the each ESL in the reception modality; and generate a planogram of ashopping store that implements the shopping store system by: sending aninstruction to one or more ESLs of the plurality to operate in thetransmission modality to transmit information relating to the productsto which each of the ESLs correspond; receiving, from the array of radioreceivers included with the shopping cart, height informationcorresponding to locations of the one or more ESLs based on thetransmitted information from the one or more ESLs; receiving, by thecomputer system, the information transmitted by the one or more ESLs;and generating the planogram detailing the information relating to theproducts to which the one or more ESLs correspond and athree-dimensional location of the one or more ESLs operating in thetransmission modality.
 2. The shopping store system of claim 1, whereinone or more ESLs of the plurality of ESLs are configured to operate asradio signal beacons responsive to the multi-protocol radio associatedwith the one or more ESLs operating in the transmission modality.
 3. Theshopping store system of claim 2, wherein the radio signal beacons areconfigured to communicate information relating to the correspondingproducts with each of the ESLs of the plurality of ESLs to a user deviceassociated with a shopper in a shopping store.
 4. The shopping storesystem of claim 1, further comprising one or more cameras positioned onthe shopping cart in which the one or more cameras are configured tocapture images of the products placed on the shelves, wherein the imagesof the products identify stocking levels of the products placed on theshelves.
 5. The shopping store system of claim 4, wherein the computersystem determines correct stocking locations of the products placed onthe shelves based on the images captured by the cameras and theinformation transmitted by the each ESL in the transmission modality. 6.The shopping store system of claim 1, further comprising a shopping cartthat includes an array of radio transmitters, the computer system beingconfigured to generate a planogram of a shopping store that implementsthe shopping store system using the shopping cart and the plurality ofESLs, wherein generating the planogram comprises: receiving, by each ESLof the plurality of ESLs, location information associated with theshopping cart from the array of radio transmitters; and compiling, bythe computer system, the location information to generate the planogram.7. The shopping store system of claim 6, wherein one or more ESLs of theplurality of ESLs are configured to determine a location of a shopper ina shopping store that implements the shopping store system responsive tothe multi-protocol radio associated with the one or more ESLs operatingin the reception modality.
 8. The shopping store system of claim 7,wherein the computer system is configured to send instructions, to thedisplay associated with each ESL of the plurality of ESLs, providingshopping guidance to the shopper in the shopping store based on theplanogram of the shopping store and the location of the shopper in theshopping store.
 9. The shopping store system of claim 8, wherein thedisplay of each ESL is an LED configured to display information based onthe location of the shopper relative to the ESL to which the displaycorresponds.
 10. The shopping store system of claim 7, wherein thecomputer system is configured to send instructions, to a mobile device,providing shopping guidance to the shopper in the shopping store basedon the planogram of the shopping store and the location of the shopperin the shopping store.
 11. The shopping store system of claim 1, whereinthe multi-protocol radio is configured to simultaneously operate in thereception modality and the transmission modality.
 12. The shopping storesystem of claim 1, wherein the computer system is configured to:receive, from one or more of the ESLs, radio signals transmitted from adevice associated with a customer in the shopping store over a period oftime; determine a location of the customer based on the locations of theone or more ESLs in the shopping store that received the radio signalfrom the device; and generating a heatmap that includes the location ofthe customer over the period of time.
 13. The shopping store system ofclaim 12, wherein the computer system is further configured to display,by the one or more ESLs in the shopping store, shopping information tothe customer based on the determined location of the customer.
 14. Theshopping store system of claim 12, wherein the computer system isfurther configured to send shopping information to the device associatedwith the customer based on the determined location of the customer.